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Ilario Enrico "Eli" Pasquale (August 24, 1960 – November 4, 2019) was a Canadian
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player and two-time Olympian. Considered one of the best basketball players in Canada's history, Pasquale was the starting point guard and co-captain of the
Canada men's national basketball team The Canada men's national basketball team () represents Canada in international basketball competitions since 1923. They are overseen by Canada Basketball, the governing body for basketball in Canada. In 10 Olympic appearances, Canada has wo ...
during, arguably, Canada's greatest era of basketball. During this time, Pasquale competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, two
World Student Games The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...
, four
FIBA World Championships The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...
and two
Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
. In 1984, Pasquale was drafted by the
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...
as the 106th overall pick. Pasquale later played professionally in Argentina, West Germany and Switzerland. During university, Pasquale led the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
to 5 straight national championships. Pasquale was the university's all-time leading scorer when he graduated. In 1984, he was awarded the Mike Moser Trophy as the male Canadian university player of the year. Pasquale was also a three-time First-Team All-Canadian (1981–1984), was named the CIAU national tournament MVP two times (1981, 1983), and was named as CIAU tournament all-star three times (1981, 1983, 1984) and five-time first team
Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...
all-star.


International career

Pasquale was a member of the Canadian men's national basketball team for over 15 years. Pasquale was the starting point guard and co-captain of this Canadian team in what was arguably Canada's greatest era of basketball. Pasquale represented Canada in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. The 1984 Olympics were notable because Canada finished 4th overall, narrowly missing a medal. In 1988, Canada finished respectably in 6th. This 1984 bronze-medal game constituted the only time in 80+ years where Canada had a legitimate chance of winning an Olympic medal in basketball. In this bronze medal game was highly competitive, being tied 18 times with 12 lead changes, with Canada being within one point with less than a minute of play remaining. Pasquale played well in this crucial game in Canadian basketball history, leading Canada in points (16) and assists (5), while also obtaining 6 rebounds. Pasquale represented Canada in the 1983 and 1985 World Student Games. In the 1983 World Student Games hosted in Edmonton, Alberta, the Canadian team won the gold medal. This constituted one of the finest moments in Canadian basketball history, being the only time in which Canada has won the gold medal in an international basketball tournament. In the semifinals of this tournament, Canada defeated a talented US team led by future NBA legends
Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...
and
Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...
. In the 1985 World Student Games, Canada won the bronze medal. Pasquale competed for Canada in four FIBA World Championships, where in 1982, Canada placed 4th. Pasquale also competed for Canada in two Pan American games where in 1983, Canada finished fourth and in 1987, Canada finished 5th. After a 5-year absence, in 1997 Pasquale represented Canada in the Tournament of the Americas that qualified Canada for the 1998 FIBA World Championship.


Professional career

In 1984, Pasquale was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 5th round as the 106th overall pick. He played three exhibition games with the team before being released. The following year, Pasquale nearly made the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
, who were looking for someone to play in the backcourt beside Michael Jordan. Pasquale had impressed the Bulls, but ultimately, they chose with American
John Paxson John MacBeth Paxson (born September 29, 1960) is an American basketball administrator and former player who was vice president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2009 to 2020. He was t ...
. Pasquale was their final cut. Pasquale played in the Amateur Athletic Union for Seattle and the Los Angeles summer pro league. He played professionally in Argentina (1986), in West Germany (1989) and in Switzerland (1990).


University

Legendary coach Ken Shields described Pasquale as "the face of UVic basketball". Pasquale played for UVic for 5 years, leading the team to 5-straight national championships. Pasquale is believed to be the first athlete in all of Canadian university sports history to win five consequtive national championships. He is only one of five athletes to win five national titles in Canadian university sports. Pasquale and his UVic team were five-time Canada West champions as well, going 75–5 against Canada West teams in regular season play during his time at UVic. Pasquale was the all-time leading scorer at UVic when he graduated. In 1984, he was awarded the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as CIAU's outstanding men's basketball player. Pasquale was a three-time First-team All Canadian (1981–1984), a two-time CIAU national tournament MVP (1981, 1983) and a three-time CIAU national tournament all-star. (1981, 1983, 1984) Besides Pasquale, only five other athletes in Canada basketball history have received the CIAU national tournament MVP twice: Mickey Fox,
Osvaldo Jeanty Osvaldo Jeanty (born August 1, 1983) is a Canadian basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He is one of the all-time greats of the Carleton University Ravens men's basketball team and a member of the Ravens' Hall of Fame. Jea ...
, Michael Smart,
Tyson Hinz Tyson Boyd Hinz (born October 12, 1991) is a former Canadian professional basketball player. Hinz played the power forward position, and last played for Mitteldeutscher BC of the German ProA. College career Hinz enjoyed a decorated career at Carl ...
and
Philip Scrubb Philip Alexander Scrubb (born 27 November 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Leyma Coruña of the Liga ACB. During his university basketball career, he won five CIS championships with the Carleton University Ravens, before ...
. Since the Canada West conference was formed in the 1972–73 season, Pasquale is the only five-time first team all-star in Canada West basketball history. Besides Pasquale, only five other athletes in basketball were four-time Canada West first team all-stars: Karl Tilleman, J.D. Jackson, Spencer McKay, Danny Balderson and Andrew Spagrud. In 1982, he was named the BC University Athlete of the Year. Twice, he was named UVic's top male athlete.


Post career

Pasquale was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2021, he was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame in its 2020-21 induction class. In 2005, he was inducted into the University of Victoria Athletic Hall of Fame. Similarly, in 2006 his jersey number, 13, was retired by the university, being only one of three athletes thus honored by the university. In 2014 he was inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame and in 2008 he was inducted into the Sudbury Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, the 1979-86 UVic Men's Basketball teams were inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame (2019-2020 induction class); the 1979-80 UVic team was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame (2020); and the 1982-1983 UVic team was inducted into the University of Victoria Sports Hall of Fame (2023), with Pasquale being recognized as a team member of each of these team inductions. In retirement, Eli focused his time on his young family and his immensely popular basketball camps. Beginning in 1985 and right up to his passing in 2019, he ran youth development camps all over BC, particularly in Victoria. Thousands of BC kids received their start in basketball through Eli's camps.


Personal life

Pasquale was born on August 24, 1960, in
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in Gatchell,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, a predominantly
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
neighbourhood of
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
. He played his first organized basketball in Grade 8 on his school team, St. Francis School. By grade 10, Pasquale's height was a mere 5 feet, 3 inches. On November 4, 2019, Pasquale passed away from esophageal cancer.


References


Sources


elipasquale.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasquale, Eli 1960 births 2019 deaths Basketball people from Ontario Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games BBC Monthey players Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian expatriate basketball people in Argentina Canadian expatriate basketball people in Germany Canadian expatriate basketball people in Switzerland Canadian men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Olympic basketball players for Canada SAM Basket players Sportspeople from Greater Sudbury Pan American Games basketball players for Canada Point guards Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Victoria Vikes basketball players Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games gold medalists for Canada FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Canada men's national basketball team players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen